Customer Reviews:
Get the 1999 edition........2000-07-16
The 1990 edition has been superceded by the 1999 edition. Be sure to get the current one.
An extraordinary work........2000-07-16
Comprehensive, beautifully illustrated with botanical drawings. A stunning work of scholarship, it is the ultimate reference for Hawaiian flora. Two large volumes. Intended for professionals, but amateurs like myself who persist (and use the glossary at the end of volume two) find it fascinating. Be sure to get the 1999 edition rather than the one from a decade earlier.
Book Description
Marrying lively essays and color photography--the hallmark of the origingal, award--winning Insight Guides--with a portable format and more practical information, the new Insight City Guides are the next generation in travel guides. Magazine-style information includes money-savings tips, free attractions, activities for kids, and websites. Expert evaluations of must-see sites boast full-bleed photos. A street atlas, tabbed travel tips section, and bonus take-it-away with you mini restaurant guide and city map complete the most user-friendly travel guides on the market.
Average customer rating:
|
Insight Guides London (Insight City Guide London)
Manufacturer: Apa Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| England
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
London
| England
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Insight Guide
| Guidebook Series
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0395819075 |
Book Description
The new Museum and Galleries series is packed with information that informs and inspires. These guides allow discriminating travelers to plan their priorities in advance. Each title features: historical perspective, illuminating text, evocative photography, detailed maps and practical advice.
Customer Reviews:
Poorly Written.......2005-10-14
I found the writing of this book to be some of the worst I have ever read in a tourbook. I found the writing quality varied greatly by section. If I recall correctly, this book has approximately ten writers and each covered a particular aspect of London. Certain passages simply didn't make any sense. The book had little continuity and therefore was very difficult to "digest." Although, the book stated that its authors tried to remain objective, the authors wrote glowingly about virtually every aspect of the city and therefore it was very difficult to determine what was worthwhile and what was not. I wish that the book has made more suggestions and tips. It had some useful maps, but I am sure there would be other sources for this information. This book simply didn't compare to many other guidebooks that I have referenced for trips to other destinations.
Customer Reviews:
Good-looking but hard to lug.......1997-05-19
Insight's City Guides combine stunning photography with literate text and a smattering of basic travel information. The Insight Venice guide is worth adding to your bookshelf, but its practical advice is getting a bit long in the tooth and its heft makes it less than ideal as a take-along guide. - Durant Imboden, Venice for Visitors, http://govenice.miningco.co
Average customer rating:
|
Insight London (Insight City Guide London)
Insight Guides
Manufacturer: Hungry Minds Inc,U.S.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
| Beaches
| Business Travel
| Cruises
| Essays & Travelogues
| Food & Lodging
| Guidebooks
| Pictorial
| Reference
| Spas
| Tips
| Tourist Destinations & Museums
| Travel Writing
London
| England
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0134680421 |
Average customer rating:
|
London Insight Guide (Insight City Guide)
Manufacturer: APA Publications Pte Ltd,Singapore
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
London
| England
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Guidebooks
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 9624213984 |
Average customer rating:
|
London Insight Guide (Insight City Guide)
Manufacturer: APA Publications Pte Ltd,Singapore
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| England
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
London
| England
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Guidebooks
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 9624210594 |
Average customer rating:
|
London Insight Guide (Insight City Guide)
Manufacturer: APA Publications Pte Ltd,Singapore
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
London
| England
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Guidebooks
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 9812343377 |
Average customer rating:
|
London Insight City Guide
*
Manufacturer: APA INSIGHT GUIDES (
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K1Z5BI |
Amazon.com
In writing about Machiavelli, Paul Strathern must contend with centuries of posthumous demonification by critics who have seen The Prince as a recipe for tyranny and evil. (Bertrand Russell, for one, declared it "a handbook for gangsters.") Tyranny, perhaps, but as Strathern points out, Machiavelli's political philosophy "was not evil in itself. It was just extremely realistic."
But The Prince is, as philosophical works go, fairly easygoing; it's about the same length as this primer, with a clarity that renders further explication somewhat superfluous. Machiavelli in 90 Minutes, then, is primarily of use if you want a quick-and-dirty biography that puts the writings in the biographical context of Machiavelli's turbulent fortunes in the political intrigues of Renaissance Florence.
Book Description
In Machiavelli in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of Machiavelli's life and ideas, and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from Machiavelli's writings; a brief list of suggested reading for those who wish to push further; and chronologies that place Machiavelli within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.
Customer Reviews:
Better to be feared than loved.......2005-03-20
As with all the works in this series this work is clearly written and provides a good outline of the life and the work. Machiavelli is seen by Strathern as a wily and subtle man of action and tells the story of his political career well. The turning point comes as it sometimes does in life with a failure. When Machiavelli loses his political position he retires to his Tuscany estate and there writes the masterpiece for which he will be infamous and famous. As Strathern understands him Machiavelli is above all a keen observer of the political world he knew who described what he saw and understood in the Italian Renaissance world of political in- fighting. 'The Prince's is the handbook which tells the Ruler how to maintain his power. And the ruthlessness, lack of Christian sentiment, required is essential to the prescription. Better to be feared than to be loved, though of course desirable to be both. The formula Machiavelli gives for ruling requires ' virtu' which Strathern perhaps incorrectly likens to Nietzsche's will-to-power. Keeping the ruler in power according to Machiavelli also requires other measures such as not relying on mercenaries, and seizing opportunities for compromise as his native Florence failed to do when it might have in doing so preserved its freedom.
A fun, interesting read........2001-11-25
I'm perplexed by the people who write angrily about the "90 Minutes" series because they are disappointed not to find a serious, in depth treatment of the works of these philosophers. The books obviously don't purport to be anything but what they are: an entertaining, high level view of basic concepts and life history.
The author shows in this book how Machiavelli's life and times may have affected his writings. I have other books that delve into Machiavelli's philosophy, but none of them mention his personal circumstances and history, which surely would affect his writing and philosophy. These books are good in that they put these great thinkers in a social and historical context which many books fail to do.
I enjoyed the books I've read by this author a great deal.
A Decent Description of Biographical and Historical Location.......2001-07-19
Paul Strathern does a good job of providing a very useful description of the historical and biographical context of Machiavelli's works. Without this kind of background, those who attempt to read Machiavelli's most famous work, THE PRINCE, will find their efforts to be frustrating and futile. Strathern's little book is best seen as a useful adjunct to and preparation for Machiavelli's works, not as a kind of CLIFF'S NOTES which provides a systematic delineation of his contribution to political thought (although Strathern does help the reader to understand Machiavelli's view of political theory "as a kind of science independent of morals"). Strathern offers a good contribution with his brief comparison and contrast of Machiavelli's THE PRINCE and DISCOURSES ON LIVY, alerting the reader to the more temperate and considered contribution to political theory provided by the latter work. As Strathern notes, in THE PRINCE, Machiavelli writes from the ruler's point of view, providing guidance for the ruthless consolidation of power. However, in DISCOURSES, he writes from the citizens' point of view, giving them advice on how to run things, "especially how to achieve freedom within the state." In relation to the latter, Strathern cites Machiavelli's seemingly out-of-character assertion that "people are more prudent, more stable, and have better judgment than a prince." All in all, Strathern writes clearly and engagingly, although he tends to indulge in a bit of historical gossip (e.g., his discussion of Cesare Borgia's sister, Lucrezia, daughter of Pope Alessandro VI). In sum, this book is useful as an introduction to Machiavelli's contributions, but is not an adequate substitution for a reading of Machiavelli's works.
good for quick bio, worthless otherwise.......2000-04-26
It is impossible to understand Machiavelli in 90 minutes, or even 90 days, though I have no doubt that books like this sell. Still, unsuspecting students who really want to learn something should beware. There are no good short cuts for stuff this difficult, and this is worse than a bad shortcut--it's downright misleading.
Fun, quick, more biography than philosophy.......1999-04-08
Even though you should be able to read it in well under 90 minutes, it does deliver what it says. More a biography of the improtant world-view shaping events in Machiavelli's life. Thin on what Machiavelli actually said and what it means. Maybe the author assumes you already knew. Nevertheless, a good read and worth the few dollars it costs.
Customer Reviews:
An Eye-Opener.......2007-05-20
This book's advantage over similar titles is the sheer number of historical insights it offers about four American cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC) simply by tracing the extraordinary life of one man, racketeer Johnny Rosselli. Want to know how the Chicago mob hijacked the Hollywood union movement in the 1930s? Or how the Kennedy administration reached out to mobsters to assassinate Castro in the 1960s? You'll find the answers, and much more, in a few hundred lucid, well-researched pages. Many of the same stories appear in Gus Russo's *The Outfit* and *Supermob*, for example, but the extra detail there doesn't always pay its own way, and Russo's conclusions frequently stretch the evidence he presents. Like Russo's more exhaustive (and exhausting) work, *All American Mafioso* shows how interdependent the worlds of organized crime, business, and government could be in mid-century America. Rosselli's grisly murder--he was dismembered and stuffed into an oil drum off the Florida coast after his Senate testimony--also shows how ugly the results could be. Highly recommended.
A pile of rubbish.......2007-04-28
Essentially a series of newspaper clippings tossed together and called research, most of it wrong or based on speculation. Save your money
Book Description
A coyote's keen senses help it survive. With eyes that can spot the smallest movement, ears that can hear the faintest rustle, and legs designed for racing, it's no wonder some coyotes live to be more than 10 years old. These adaptable canines communicate by howling, and those who live in cities even respond to the sirens of fire trucks. This book explores the lives of clever coyotes at work and at play.
About the series: Each book in the
Welcome to the World of Series introduces children to wildlife through color photographs, lively description and amazing facts.
Book Description
You know that clean, "graphic-designer style" you thought you couldn't copy on your layouts without going to design school? Now you can learn to think like a graphic designer. With her signature style, Cathy Zielske shares expert ideas on design, photography, journaling and typography in Clean and Simple Scrapbooking from Simple Scrapbooks.
Customer Reviews:
a Must have for your scrapbooking library!.......2007-09-13
Absolutely love this book - it's my "go to" book anytime I need a little inspiration. Cathy Z.'s clean lines, strong detail and catchy titles drive home the important points of good page design. I've got both books and am hoping that she'll do yet another! I'm not kidding, this is a must have for your library - you won't be disappointed.
AMAZING is right.......2007-08-31
The style of Cathy Zielske (and Simple Scrapbooks) is exactly what I had been looking for. I love the concept of simple pages with clean lines that highlight the photo and its story and not an overuse of embelishments that distract.
Love this book!.......2007-08-08
This was the one book that hooked me into scrapbooking. If only I could afford the graphic and font programs that help design some of these pages! I let a friend borrow some books to learn about scrapbooking. She brought me back every book except this one and asked if she could read it again! I like simple and uncluttered....and if you do, you will love this book.
sweet!!.......2007-07-03
Love this "magazine" style of scrapbooking layout. Very inspirational for beginners. Great ideas for digital application. Would like to see more photography how-to's interspersed. [m]
A Guide for the Subtle Scrapbooker.......2007-03-31
I loved this book! Cathy Zielske's scrapbooking ideas are a breakthrough in a world of kitsch. It helps that she's a professional photographer, but her simple ideas for clear, easy to follow pages are stunning. I want to be just like her!
Average customer rating:
- very helpful
- worth the search
- A Great Tool to Focus Gardening Priorities
|
Easy Garden Design: 12 Simple Steps to Creating Successful Gardens and Landscapes
Janet Macunovich
Manufacturer: Storey Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Landscape
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Garden Design
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0882667912 |
Customer Reviews:
very helpful.......2005-01-14
Very good book to use as a workbook for designing a garden, but not enough on it's own. I am working on designing a landscape for our home, and I use this book primarily, along with 'the well designed mixed garden', and 'your house, your garden'. a book about local plants is also very beneficial. Using all of these gives me confidence in doing something I have never done before.
worth the search.......2004-08-21
This is an outstanding tool for both the beginner and advanced gardener. Janet has a way of explaining things in an order that helps prevent mistakes caused by over enthusiasm, and still feels like a game.
It is easy to read and use, doesn't feel like homework to work through.
A Great Tool to Focus Gardening Priorities.......1999-07-03
Easy Garden Design helped me to think through the reasons I wanted a garden, and how to tell if the finished product is successful. My whole landscape was simply too overwhelming to think about or budget for, so now I've learned to design and complete one garden area at a time. Previously, I've taken a scattershot approach and was unhappy with the results. Now I have an overall landscape plan and am proceeding with confidence.. An excellent resource!
Book Description
Harville Hendrix has illuminated the paths to healthy, loving relationships in his New York Times bestsellers Getting the Love You Want and Keeping the Love You Find. Now, with his coauthor and wife, Helen Hunt, he brings us to a new understanding of the most profound love of all -- by helping parents nurture their own development as they encourage emotional wholeness in their children.
This groundbreaking book offers a unique opportunity for personal transformation: by resolving issues that originated in our own childhood, we can achieve a conscious, and thus healthier, relationship with our children, regardless of their age. Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt help us explore:
- The Imago -- the fantasy partner that our unconscious mind constructs from those we loved as a child, a that has guided our search for a life partner
- Maximizer and Minimizer parents -- the defensive styles that internally shape what we say and how interact with our children
- A Parenting Process that helps to end the "cycle of wounding" -- the handing-down of wounding we received as children -- as we raise our own children
- Safety, Support, and Structure -- how to give children what they really need from us
- Modeling Adulthood -- using our healed sense of self as a model for our children.
With other practical, insightful approaches that can powerfully shape the parent-child bond, Giving the Love that Heals gives us the keys to helping our children to become healthy, responsible, and caring people.
Customer Reviews:
Doing your Homo-work as a parent and Gay Parent.......2004-10-24
The writing of Harville Hendrix's have become my relationship bibles. I find his clear way of taking psychological theory and putting into practice for relationships of all kind very effective.
Lesbian and Gay parents have their work cut out for them in dealing with issues as a parent that are across the board as well as their work on how the homophobic culture will affect their children. What I love about this book is that it invites the parent to look at their own childhood knowing that that is often where parents get stuck. Internalized homophobia will be an important thing to consider for Gay parents in the identity stage of a child's development as well as the intimacy formation stage.
Also, for straight parents worried about their children being gay, there is a wonderful line in the book on page 224: The conscious parent understands that his child is "trying on" identities now in the present, not forecasting who he will be in the future. If a boy dresses up in the pretty party dress his mother saved from her childhood, that does not mean that he will have problems with sexual identity......Obviously he wont' grow up to be Big Bird or Spiderman, although he may identify with them as characters who have powerful personalities". Hurray for Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt for writing a supurb book!
Joe Kort
Not Your Average Parenting Book.......2003-06-23
I was somewhat disappointed, having read Hendrix's other books. This book is set up very much like Simple Abundance, and each day has its "words to live by". For example, there is no path to follow if you know your child is suffering from the psycholigical disorder that is commonly known as adolescence. Not bad, but not chock full of valuable exercises like his previous works.
Nicole Flowers
Best Parenting Book Ever.......2003-02-07
I recommend this book to every parent who mentions struggling with their child(ren). It goes beyond being just a parenting-technique book to helping the parent identify their own issues stemming from childhood. Through that process, the parent learns where his/her weaknesses or blocks are, so that they have the clarity to discern what is actually occurring with the child, rather than being clouded by his/her perceptions. From there, the parent can use the techniques taught in the book to help the child move successfully through the developmental phase that is causing frustration.
My favorite parts of the book are the detailed explanations of the chronological stages of a child's life; the explanation and examples of symbiotic parenting; and the explanation of how we learn to parent how are parents parented us, which is how they were parented, ad infinitum, with the assurance that we can break the cycle of mistakes.
This is a book for parents who are committed to helping their children navigate through life, even though it requires some self-discovery. It is not a book for a parent who wants a quick solution, because this requires commitment. For me, the healing that resulted in myself, my child and our relationship went far beyond what I was asking for, making the commitment a bargain at any price.
Lots of Psycho Babble that says nothing.......2002-11-03
Harville Hendrix's book, Getting the Love you Want was fantastic--likely the best book on relationships ever. However this book on child rearing is awful. Let me explain why.... The book is loaded with psycho babble and politically correct themes that mean nothing. If you read chapter 1 and Chapter 2 and then ask yourself, what did I learn? You will have to say, uh.. nothing. Chapter 3 is where it should start getting interesting, and although the topic "unconscious parenting" is a good one, there is too darn much fluff.
Getting the Love You Want was short and to the point. I think this book, Giving the Love that Heals, could have been 1/3 the length of what it is. We are a busy people, and shouldn't have to put up with writing that says nothing. This drives me crazy!
I am sure there is something worthwhile in the book, but believe me, you have to skim it quickly to get to those points.
I now have Peace.......2000-04-07
Giving the Love that Heals is a book that finally gave me peace. By this I mean it helped to heal the problems from my past and gave me inner peace, and it helped me to deal with my teenage son that I was always fighting with, so now I have peace in the home. This was a book a could not put down once I started to read it. My children and my husband noticed a diffrence in my parenting technique's right away. I have made a conscious effort to see the things in my children that delight me, and not to dwell on the things that they do that are sometimes disappointing. This book taught me that the wounds from my past that I had not dealt with had power over me. Once I dealt with the past, then I realized I could handle the future. Now my future with my husband and children is very bright, and I know I can handle pretty much anything life has to offer me. This is a book I would recommend to everyone. Thank you for the peace in my life and in my heart. Kim Poliacik
Book Description
Harville Hendrix and his wife, Helen Hunt, brought their relationship expertise to Giving the Love That Heals, the acclaimed parenting guide with a groundbreaking premise: by healing past wounds to their own psyches, parents can nurture and encourage emotional wholeness in their children. Now, with this wonderful companion volume, you can achieve personal transformations that will enrich the life you share with your children, regardless of their age.
Here are practical, hands-on exercises and affirmations that make the insights of Giving the Love That Heals a day-to-day reality. As you learn more about yourself and your own upbringing, you'll:
RESOLVE the "cycle of wounding" -- the handing-down of emotional wounds from parent to child
DISCOVER how the unconscious mind guides your search for a life partner
STRENGTHEN the parent-child bond for a lifetime
UNDERSTAND the influences that internally shape how you interact with your child
GIVE your child a sense of assurance as you present a model of your own healed self
Fulfilling the powerful vision of whole, healthy relationships began in Getting the Love You Want and Keeping the Love You Find, Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt come full circle with Giving the Love That Heals, and with this step-by-step companion.
Average customer rating:
- Deeply inspiring for an artist
- Going over Boundaries between Disciplines
- Great minds think alike.
- strains to equate two rather different lives
- Creativity and the Mind
|
Einstein, Picasso: Space, Time, and the Beauty That Causes Havoc
Arthur I. Miller
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Picasso, Pablo
| ( P-R )
| Artists, A-Z
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Painting
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Artists, Architects & Photographers
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Scientists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| History & Philosophy
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Relativity
| Physics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Art and Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light
-
Insights of Genius: Imagery and Creativity in Science and Art
-
Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps: Empires of Time
-
The Culture of Time and Space, 1880-1918: With a New Preface
-
Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light (P.S.)
ASIN: 0465018602
Release Date: 2002-03-05 |
Book Description
"Miller is an excellent historian...and a fine biographer.... [His] artful arrangement of his conclusions...makes the book something of an intellectual thriller."-- New York Times Book Review.
The most important scientist of the twentieth century and the most important artist had their periods of greatest creativity almost simultaneously and in remarkably similar circumstances.
This fascinating parallel biography of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso as young men examines their greatest creations--Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Einstein's special theory of relativity. Miller shows how these breakthroughs arose not only from within their respective fields but from larger currents in the intellectual culture of the times. Ultimately, Miller shows how Einstein and Picasso, in a deep and important sense, were both working on the same problem.
Customer Reviews:
Deeply inspiring for an artist.......2006-01-19
After reading several books and essays on Picasso in the context of modern art movements, it was refreshing to read such a thoughtful and detailed review of Picasso's achievements from the perspective of how science, and the scientific achievements of his time, affected him and drove him to seek 'new dimensions' in his art. I admit as an art enthusiast I took greater interest in the Picasso chapters than the Einstein chapters, but was truly impressed by Miller's ability to dive so deeply into each of these worlds.
Going over Boundaries between Disciplines.......2002-07-19
What factors can be motivations of a genius's reformative work? Is it possible that the same notions affect geniuses in science and art? What is the daily life of geniuses? What processes are going on when a genius does a monumental work? We often have such questions as above. Arthur I. Miller, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at University College London, wrote a wonderful book to answer all of those questions and to tell us more about creative activity by the example of the two giants of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso.
This dual biography centers on the special relativity theory discovered by Einstein in 1905 and the Cubism painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" produced by Picasso in 1907. In the first chapter, the author mentions that Poincare's book "La Science et l'hypothese" gave a spur to both of the two geniuses and led them to explore new notions of space and time. Tracing their respective lives in later chapters, the author clarifies how both men sought representations of nature that transcend those of classical thought and reach beyond appearances. The reader would be convinced of the fact that the effect of Poincare's book is not a superficial similarity between the works of Einstein and Picasso but a common denominator deeply rooted in the culture and science of the early twentieth century.
In the last chapter the author insists that at the creative moment boundaries between disciplines dissolve. Namely, aesthetics becomes paramount also in science; on the other hand, artists solve problems just like scientists. So, if you are a scientist, you would find direct interest in the chapters on Einstein and also find it profitable to read the chapters on Picasso; and if you are an artist, the reverse would be true. Laypersons would also get a lot of stimuli to a productive life from this book.
Great minds think alike........2002-05-12
Arthur Miller is a Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at London's University College. Equal parts biography and art-science history, his interesting book follows the parallel lives of physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) into the 20th Century. Although the two lives never actually intersected, Miller demonstrates that as a result of the intellectual atmosphere of 1905, Einstein and Picasso "began exploring new notions of space and time almost coincidentally" (p. 4). "I wrote EINSTEIN, PICASSO," Miller tells us, "for lovers of art and science practiced at their most fundamental and exciting level, for aficionados of thinking across disciplines and generally for readers interested in the drama of high creativity. We wonder about the moment when everything comes together to produce incredible insights. How does this happen? How do thoughts emerge that go beyond the information at hand?" (p. 8).
While it does not ultimately succeed as a biography in bringing either Einstein or Picasso to life in its 357 pages, Miller's book shows that his subjects were able to achieve "enormous successes under conditions that would have defeated most people" (p. 266), and to this limited extent, Miller gives us insight into what made both men tick. However, Miller's real strength is in exploring how Einstein and Picasso "processed information in order to make their momentous breakthroughs" (p. 245) resulting in Einstein's 1905 theory of relativity, and the cubism of Picasso's 1907 painting, "Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon." The theory of relativity, like cubism, Miller shows, represents "a profound response to changes in the philosophical and scientific climate as well as to dramatic technological innovations" (p. 174). While his book demonstrates time and again how Einstein and Picasso were equally fond of work and women, it only really soars when it reveals how these two men were able to simultaneously move the world into modernity through science and art.
G. Merritt
strains to equate two rather different lives.......2002-02-18
The idea that there may be a connection between the appearance of relativity and cubism at the beginning of the twentieth century is not a new one. Though it has been shown quite convincingly that Picasso was not aware of Einstein's work when he and Braque invented cubism, it is still possible to say that BOTH Einstein and Picasso were influenced by some common elements that had appeared in western culture at that time. This, in itself, would be unremarkable; Both Einstein and Picasso lived in the same continent at the same time, it would be very surprising if they did NOT have some common influences. But professor Miller tries to stretch this comparison to the breaking point and well beyond. The result is a book in which excellent summaries of their early life and careers are marred by clichéd and overblown psychobabble and cultural theorizing.
The book is still interesting because it deals in detail with the lives of two such gifted and unique individuals. But the comparisons are frequently forced, and the author seems to have failed to take the advice of either of the masters. Picasso was dismissive of most attempts to retrospectively slot his art into some art historian's version of "influences and phases" and he would certainly have resisted any attempt to "explain" his genius in this manner. Einstein, too, was willing to leave the mystery of creativity unsolved. Mr. Miller would have done well to present us with two separate books about Einstein and Picasso, or one bigger book on the cultural ferment of the early nineteen hundreds. This attempt to find "the secret of creativity" fails to rise above the level of the self-help manuals that crowd our bookshops. Einstein loved music, so music is listed as one of the routes to creative "non-verbal" thought. But the fact that Picasso was never interested in music does not constitute a counter-example for Mr. Miller. Meanwhile, Picasso smoked hashish and took opium with great regularity through this period, but while the slightest hint that he might have heard of geometry is inflated beyond belief, this significant aspect of his life gets only two lines in the book.
Last, but not the least, while science and art are both human products, their natures are very different. Much of Modern art has moved beyond mere representation and become more like music (an esthetic experience which may or may not represent a particular "story") but science is nothing if it's not a coherent story. Einstein rebuilt the foundations of modern science by systematically and LOGICALLY questioning the basic assumptions of Newtonian physics and the discoveries of electro-magnetism. This achievement may have involved intuition and unconscious influences, but it would be useless if scientists could not eventually understand and agree on its meaning. Modern art may well deal with matters even more important than the physical structure of the universe (love, sex, death, loss, meaning, values, rebellion, rage...) but it would not be art if all artists were to agree on its significance and meaning.
Creativity and the Mind.......2001-12-04
A brilliant book for a discussion between the relationship between the art and science.
Maybe we can not be an Einstein or Picasso, but there is a lot to learn about their creative spirit.
Average customer rating:
|
Women Power and Consciousness in 19th Century Ireland: Eight Biographical Studies
Manufacturer: Attic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Irish
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Women
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Marriage & Family
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Feminist Theory
| Women's Studies
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Genealogy
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
19th Century
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ireland
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1855940787 |
Books:
- Metal Ions & Bacteria
- Mexican "cacalioid" genera allied to Senecio (Compositae), (Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, v. 34, pt. 6)
- Microbes of Merit
- Microbiology And Biochemistry Of Strict Anaerobes Involved In Interspecies Hydrogen Transfer (FEMS SYMPOSIUM)
- Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe: A Naturetrek Guide
- My woodland friends
- Nature's use of colour in plants and their flowers
- New Zealand Pohutukawa
- Nuclear Division in the Fungi
- Orchids for the outdoor garden: A descriptive list of the world's orchids that may be grown outdoors in the British isles : for the use of amateur gardeners
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Accounting for Managers: Text and Cases
- The United States Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship: Basics for Beginners/D Level
- The Old Limey
- The Shi'is of Iraq
- The Reader's Digest Country and Western Songbook
- The Ultimate Math Refresher for the GRE, GMAT, and SAT
- Wandering Through Winter: A Naturalist's Record of a 20,000-Mile Journey Through the North American
- Rule's Book of Business Plans
- The Office: Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes 2002 Day-To-Day Calendar
- The Forgotten Service